The Importance of Design in Business
Design is not just about aesthetics and creativity. It is a strategic tool.
There are many branding agencies in Bangalore and Mumbai that specifically focus on using Design as a strategic tool as opposed to merely creating aesthetic visuals. In the ever-changing business landscape, especially in today’s digital era, where competition is at an all-time high and saturating most industries, brands increasingly find it difficult to differentiate themselves from their competition while also fulfilling consumer expectations and solving consumer problems.
Design as a strategic tool equips businesses with all that can help them stand out in this fierce competition and achieve success, from giving the business an identity through branding to creating beautiful products and services, creating immersive experiences, and solving customer issues through constant innovation.
First Impressions Last Forever
In today’s digital first world, where attention spans are increasingly dwindling, creating content that captures one’s attention in the first impression has become a necessity. In a brand’s journey from conception to consumer, Design is the first touch point, whether that is a brand’s visual identity, a website landing page, a social media post, a video, product packaging, or an eye-catching piece of communication. Therefore, it has become very essential for businesses to create visually attractive and thoughtful designs to capture consumer attention. This, in turn, sets the tone for the consumer’s entire experience and journey towards the brand.
One successful case of a design company in Mumbai and Bangalore creating a strong lasting impression for a brand would be Birla Estates, the Aditya Birla Group’s maiden venture into real estate. In a survey conducted early last year, it was revealed that the logomark as well as colours were memorable to the consumers and they associated it with the legacy of the Aditya Birla Group and over the past few years, this legacy and visual association has aided Birla Estates gain the trust, loyalty and advocacy of their target audience.
Building Brand Identity and Recognition
Design is vital to building the visual identity of any brand. A well-crafted visual identity helps a brand immediately differentiate from its counterparts and competitors. A visual identity goes well beyond just the logo; it becomes a symbol of who a brand is and how they conduct their business. Consistency in design across various touchpoints fosters brand recognition and helps consumers associate specific visual elements with a particular brand.
An excellent example of a design company in Bangalore and Mumbai successfully building a brand’s identity would be the iconic brandmark of the Aditya Birla Group. When they first approached us in the 90s, they were a group of multiple entities, each with their own recognisable brands and lacked a common group identity. After a series of insightful conversations and in-depth research, taking ‘The Sun’ (Aditya) as the starting point, we crafted an identity that depicted the energy, life and warmth of the sun married with a young and energetic look and feel. Over time, the new branding system helped the brand solidify audience perception as a global, trustworthy and established brand.
Improving the Consumer Experience
In the modern era, it is the consumer experience journey that makes or breaks a brand. If a brand can consistently provide great experiences, then they would have a greater recall value than other similar players in the market. Design plays a very crucial role in creating, curating, and crafting this experience. From physical spaces, to mobile apps & websites, to a software interface, a well-thought-out and user-friendly design can determine how users and consumers interact with the brand.
A great example of work done by a creative agency in Bangalore & Mumbai in enhancing customer experience for a well-known brand would be Baskin Robbins.
While Baskin Robbins has the distinction of being the largest ice cream chain in India, with over 725 stores, across 190 cities, their position was increasingly being challenged by the influx of speciality brands and competitors who offer new variants & products such as ice-cream shakes, artisanal, vegan, sugar-free, etc. over the last decade. We were approached to refresh & redesign the Baskin Robbins retail experience which was to be extended across all of their retail stores.
Through the course of the exercise, VGC was able to redesign the instore experience, shifting the overall mood from tactical to a store that was more conversational & engaging. We also gave the brand a new and refreshing colour palette, allowing us to crack a colour-based navigation system that added to the customer’s overall experience.
Communicating Values and Storytelling
Design is a very powerful medium for storytelling. It allows brands to communicate their vision, mission, and values in a compelling manner. The use of various design elements, from thoughtfully picked-out layouts and colours to the visual symbolism used, helps evoke emotions and help the audience associate the brand with all the aspects that the brand wants to highlight.
If we take the example of Patagonia’s marketing and product packaging, they craft meaningful narratives that embody the brands commitment to sustainability and to creating a better world through better products. Patagonia has established itself as an activist brand through various actions and creative marketing campaigns. From the use of earthy colour tones in impactful creatives that showcase the outdoors to their eco-friendly product packaging, Design has played a major role in their journey to reach out to consumers who share the same values as what they stand for.
Increasing Sales and ROI
The effective use of Design can be the make-or-break factor when it comes to boosting sales and increasing ROI (Return on Investment). A well-designed and customer-focused product or service can help attract new as well as returning customers. This is because well-designed products and services generate positive experiences, which develop into positive reviews. This in turn builds a loyal fanbase who bring in both new customers and repeat purchases. For example, let us look at the highly fast-moving and competitive landscape of e-commerce, where an intuitive UI can make or break a customer’s experience, and thus significantly impact the ROI of the platform.
An excellent example of an exceptional brand identity brought alive by a creative agency in Bangalore and Mumbai is Phoenix Kessaku- their maiden venture into an uber-luxury residential project in Bangalore.
We worked with Phoenix to create a differentiated positioning for this uber-luxury offering. Inspired by the meaning of the name Kessaku- Masterpiece in Japanese and based on the concept of Shibui- simplicity in complexity, we identified the metaphor of Clarity in Abstraction through the work done by Mark Rothco- who was well-known as an ‘Abstract Expressionist’. This design direction coupled with the positioning The Fine Art of Living. Perfected perfectly encapsulated the concept of Kessaku.
This idea was further extended into the sub-branding for the individual towers within the precinct of Kessaku and also into the invite-only customer experience at the Kessaku Experience Centre.
Through this artfully designed and compelling experience at Kessaku, we sold over 60% of the villa units within the pre-launch span of 45 days, allowing us to raise the price by 20% since then. This also allowed the brand help achieve all its marketing goals through experiential marketing targeted at focused target audience.
How Can Businesses Today Take Complete Advantage of Design?
The importance Design plays in businesses cannot be undermined. Design has played an important role in branding services, where creative agency in Bangalore and Mumbai have helped several brands grow and achieve success by helping them not just with a visual identity but also with articulating their vision, mission, and values through compelling creatives, campaigns, and packaging.
Design is no longer seen as something done for the purpose of aesthetics, and goes hand-in-hand with a lot of industries and sectors, whether that is engineering or medical, advertising, product creation, or digital marketing, Today, it is recognised as an integral factor in boosting sales, increasing ROI, and business growth and expansion.
Curious about how you can transform your business and vision? Reach out to us at creative@vgc.in , and let the talented team at the top creative ad agency in Mumbai and Bangalore help bring your business dreams to life!